Burning Up
by ReadNWrite117
Summary: One team attempts to survive with life and limb during what might well be the most eventful year at Beacon ever. Rated T for violence.
1. First Encounter

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own, and I am not in any way affiliated with Rooster Teeth and RWBY. You lot know the drill.**

* * *

The Ursa's paw skidded off a metal shield. Scorto pulled his fist back, and his gauntlet glowed and reconfigured around his hand, flowing into a spike, which crunched as it encountered the creature's jaw. The Ursine didn't have time to roar its defiance, and it fell to the ground. Scorto pulled his white-hot gauntlet back together, wrapping it around his hand.

"Anyone else?" He called to the forest in general.

As if in reply, a growl came from behind him.

"Big mouth." He muttered, and turned.

The pack of Beowolves howled, and leaped forwards.

"Dust." He cursed.

Scorto charged _through_ the first Beowolf, grabbing its corpse and slamming it into the 'wolf behind it. His gauntlet flowed into a spike, and he skewered the next 'wolf as it leaped at him. The next three went down as Scorto's gauntlet flowed into a dozen small stakes, which he flung at the 'wolves. A sixth didn't even realise it was being attacked, before Scorto's left gauntlet neatly bisected it.

If the pack had been anything other than demons, they would have realised that losing half of their pack members in under thirty seconds is a good reason to run. As it was, the remaining Beowolves launched themselves at Scorto.

Scorto's gauntlets flowed into one shield, which he caught the wolves on, and he hurled them away. He then raced after the flailing Beowolves, throwing a metal spike at one of the 'wolves, and stabbing another through the chest with an bladed gauntlet. He ducked under a clawed paw, gauntlet-blade arcing through the 'wolf. Another 'wolf snapped at him, and his left gauntlet's blade emerged from it's head, driven through it's lower and upper jaw. He grabbed the corpse and pivoted, the next 'wolf's claws sinking deep into it's packmate's torso. Scorto threw the corpse aside, pulling the 'wolf off-balance, and skewered it.

He straightened up, and his blood ran cold. The last 'wolf was in midair, barely a foot away. Time slowed, and Scorto brought his gauntlets up, but too slow…

Less than a second later, an arrow shot through the air, slamming into the 'wolf, and exploding. The 'wolf's head disappeared.

Scorto's eyes followed the arrow's flight, and found the person who'd fired it. A tall girl, gold haired and green eyed, standing on a tree branch. She leaped lightly to the ground, with the grace only confidence could bestow.

"That was…impressive." She smiled easily

"Thanks." Scorto smiled back, "I'm Scorto."

"Loren." Loren nodded.

"Which way's the temple?"

"That way." Loren began walking, her long strides forcing Scorto to scurry in order to keep up.

"So come on." Scorto said after a few minutes, "What tricks does your bow have?"

With a _whirr_, the bowstring retracted into the main body, which straightened out, flattened, formed a crossguard and finally the blade sprung out.

Scorto's eyes widened.

"Dust, that's impressive." He said.

"I know." Loren smiled.

* * *

"That," Scorto said to Loren, "Is the biggest Ursa I've ever seen."

"How many Ursae _have_ you seen?"

"Three." Scorto replied offhandedly, "And that one is still the biggest."

They were watching the daemon from the cover of a bush, considering their options.

"Shh," Loren hissed, "Look. There."

She indicated another cluster of bushes, behind which, if Scorto squinted, he could see occasional flashes of movement.

"Dust, but you've got good eyes." He told her.

"Thanks. Do you think you can signal them?" Loren asked.

"Is Dust volatile?" He grinned.

"Depends…" Loren began.

"I meant, yes." Scorto interrupted.

He concentrated, for a few minutes, and eventually, a face peered around the other bush. Loren tapped Scorto's shoulder.

"Got them." She told him.

Scorto breathed out, and peered around the bushes. Several minutes of frantic signalling continued, as the Ursa rooted around in a rotten tree bough for any beetles that might be in there.

Scorto saw a girl count down, and sprang out as she hit zero.

The next thing he knew he was flying backwards from a casual backhand the gigantic Ursa had delivered. Loren had been hit by the same backhand, but had crashed into a tree and was charging back into the fight. The other pair hadn't been backhanded, but the Ursa was now laying into them with vicious glee.

Scorto slammed into something hard, and shook his head before charging back at the Ursa. He sprung onto the creature's back and slashed twice with his wristblades, twisting off of the creature as it reared onto its back legs. Loren's bow - now in sword mode - sunk into the Ursa's side, but it swept her off her feet with a gleeful blow, and she lost her grip on the sword. The girl from the other pair fired a pair of pistols at the beast, which attempted to bat her away, only to be blocked by the boy, who brought his spear up, stabbing at the paw.

"We need to get to the temple!" Scorto yelled to the girl.

"Agreed!"

Loren grabbed her sword and it sprang back into a bow. She took a moment to string it, then nocked an arrow. It flew at the Ursa, exploding violently. The creature's head swung around, locking onto her, and it roared deafeningly.

"We'll cover!" Loren yelled, "Go!"

"Aspidas!" The girl yelled, "Fall back!"

Scorto's gauntlets glowed again, and reformed into what appeared to be guns.

"I'm not sure how much difference that'll make!" Loren called.

Scorto smiled, then fired.

Twin streamers of liquid fire emerged from his gauntlets, scorching the Ursa.

"Move!" He told Loren.

They turned and headed after the other pair, crashing through the undergrowth in a headlong dash to escape the Ursa. Behind them, a tree crashed to the ground, and Scorto sprinted to catch up with the other pair.

"So we get the Ursa Major." The girl panted, "And I'll bet the other teams don't have to deal with anything like this. I'm Hazel, by the way."

"Scorto." He panted, "Are we losing it?"

"I don't know." She smiled evilly, "Do you want to look?"

"I'll be fine." Scorto decided.

"Good. Now keep running!"

They stumbled out onto a clearing, in the middle of which was what Scorto hoped was the temple. Around the inside were several pedestals, and mounted on each were-

"Chess pieces?" Loren panted.

"I'll guess these are the relics." Hazel said, "Pick one and let's go."

"Got one." Loren said.

"That was quick." Scorto looked at her.

She shrugged.

A crash came from the forest.

"Dust!" Scorto yelled in frustration, "Won't that thing give up?"

"Probably not." Hazel said, "Come on. We need to move."

Scorto gave one last look backwards, then sprinted ahead.

* * *

"Can I ask a question?" Scorto asked Hazel.

"Sure."

"How, by Dust, are we going to get back up the cliff?"

Hazel blinked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She said eventually.

"And we'll have to deal with the Ursa as well." Scorto said.

"Shut up and run."

They emerged from the forest, and skidded to a halt. In front of them was a gaping chasm.

"Any smart ideas?" Scorto asked.

"There are some buildings over there." Loren indicated towards their right, "There might be a bridge."

"And if there isn't?" Hazel asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we reach it." Scorto told her.

"Don't use my own words against me!" Hazel exclaimed.

Aspidas smiled.

"You to, Aspidas? fine. You lot go on. I'll deal with the Ursa."

"I'll help." Scorto said, realising what she wanted to do.

"Then we'll stay as well." Loren said, "I'll be able to hear it before you lot can notice anything."

Aspidas simply nodded.

"Then let's do this." Hazel grinned.

* * *

The Ursa burst out into the open, and roared when it saw the prey-things it had been chasing. The two-legs had scattered in surprise when he had first appeared, but they were now turning to face him. That was good. After all, that made the fight more enjoyable.

The Ursa couldn't see. It clawed at the darkness, but the darkness would not rend. But the two-legs didn't know that the Ursa could still smell them, did they?

A stinging sensation came from the Ursa's flank, the two-leg's flying claw. It could smell the two-leg that had the flying claw launcher, and it charged at her. It heard the two-legs shout, and suddenly the Ursa's behind was burning, and then one of the two-legs' round-hards slammed into its burning posterior. Its feet were suddenly not on the ground. Where was the ground? Why had the wind suddenly increased so much?

* * *

"Hazel?" Scorto asked, "Please. For the love of Dust. Give us more warning before you do that next time."

"I told you the plan five minutes before we did it!" Hazel exclaimed.

"Yeah…more warning. Like, a day." Scorto said.

"Hey, guys!" Loren said, come on!" We're almost there!"

"Coming!" Hazel called.

The group picked their way past the crumbling buildings, and crossed the stone bridge quickly.

"Soo…How do we get to the top again?" Loren asked.

"Scorto…" Hazel began, "Your Semblance…what exactly is it?"

Scorto summoned a roiling ball of liquid fire, and let it drop. It hissed as it touched the ground, and the fiery puddle slowly turned orange, then red, then gray.

"Metalshifting." Scorto said quietly, "I can melt and reforge metal."

"How much metal can you control at a time?" Loren asked.

"As much as there is around me." Scorto asked, "Why?"

Aspidas smiled.

"Could you make a ladder to get us up there?" Hazel asked.

Scorto's eyes widened.

"Dust, I'm an idiot." He muttered, "Stand back."

He raised his arms, and for several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the ground rumbled, and two strands of liquid fire raced up the side of the cliff, cooling in seconds. Another strand slid up the cliff, forming the rungs as it went.

"Get up quickly." Scorto said, "I'll need to send the metal back down soon."

"Why?" Loren asked.

"Because I took it all from underground." Scorto said, "If I don't put it back soon, the entire cliff might collapse."

"Come on." Hazel said, grabbing a rung.

They started climbing, Hazel first, then Aspidas, then Loren and finally Scorto. A few minutes into the climb, Scorto glanced up, then blushed deep crimson.

"L-loren?" He called up, eyes fastidiously looking at the wall.

"What?" Loren called down.

"You're wearing a skirt."

Hazel's shriek could probably have been heard a mile off.

* * *

Ozpin eyed the group as the scrambled onto the cliff.

"And is anyone going to explain the reason for the…noises?" He asked. He could make a pretty shrew guess at what had caused the noises simply because of the way Mr Fortis and Mrs Theama were blushing.

"W-well, we we-were climbing, and L-l-loren was in front of my and…I…looked up." Scorto stuttered.

Ozpin chuckled.

"That was pretty much what I thought." He said, "Congratulations on getting here first." He added.

"First?" Hazel exclaimed, "We had to go through an Ursa Major to get here! What did the others have to go through?"

"You can ask them when they get here." Ozpin smiled mysteriously.

A shrill scream cut through the air.

"If they get here." Ozpin amended.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Ruby Rose fired Crescent Rose one last time, and the Nevermore's head detached itself from the Nevermore's body in a burst of rose petals.

"Well," Yang commented, "That was a thing."

* * *

"Hazel Umbaras, Aspídas Amyntikós, Scorto Fortis and Loren Theama." Ozpin's voice boomed from the speakers, "The four of you collected the white pawn pieces from this day on, you will work together as Team HASL. Lead by…Hazel Umbaras!"

Applause broke out from the catwalks.

"Well done." Scorto congratulated.

* * *

**First Chapter! Thank you to anyone who reads this, and thank you thank you to anyone who reviews this!**

**I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do for the next chapter, probably something similar to episodes 9 and 10. If anyone has any suggestions, I'll be happy to hear (read) them.**


	2. Meeting the Natives

**Next Chapter's up! A little shorter than I'd have liked, but it will do. Please review this!**

* * *

Scorto jerked awake.

"Wha-who-aaaah!"

"Come on!" Hazel said.

"Wha?" Scorto asked.

Hazel clashed her cymbals again, and Loren burst out laughing.

"Th-the look on…on your face!" She managed to gasp, "Pr-priceless!"

"Come on! We've got so much to do!." Hazel said, "And not so much time. Come _on_!"

"Wha?" Scorto asked.

"We need to unpack." Aspidas said.

"And decorate!" Loren said.

"How much did you guys bring?" Scorto asked.

Loren indicated the stack of suitcases in one corner.

"That much. This is going to be soo much fun!"

"Dust." Scorto whispered.

"Lets do this!"

* * *

"I am going to die…" Scorto gasped.

Aspidas nodded in silent agreement.

The pair had finished converting the beds into bunk beds, sealing them together with metal that Scorto summoned. They now lay on the floor as the girls decorated their bed.

"No! Put the poster over there, and the flowerpot over -"

Outside, a shriek came from down the corridor.

"To class!"

"Class!" Scorto cried.

"What do we have first?" Loren asked.

"Combat, with…Glynda Goodwitch!" Hazel said, "_Run_!"

* * *

"Late, Miss Umbaras. Sit down. We'll be setting up the dueling rostra today, as well as assigning your lockers to you. each of you will be assigned one rocket-propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armour. Additionally, your locker can be sent to a custom location based on a six-digit code."

Goodwitch droned on, and Scorto felt his eyes begin to grow heavy…

"So, now we have recapped the tournament rules…"

"Miss Umbara? You will be fighting…"

"Miss Theama…"

"Mr. Fortis!" A voice called.

"Yes?" Scorto asked, snapping out of his daze.

"You're up next, with…Miss Nikos?"

"Here, Miss." A pretty redhead said.

They stepped up onto the stage, and the lights centered over the duelists.

"This is going to hurt like Dust." Scorto muttered.

They circled for a while, probing, testing, baiting. Scorto made the first real move, grabbing Miló and twisting it away from its wielder. Phyrra shifted Miló into a sword, and Scorto hurriedly let go, ducking under the backhand return to drive a fist into Pyrrha's gut. Her leg flashed out, knocking his feet away, and they staggered apart. Pyrra brought Akoúo̱ around on her arm to take the stakes Scorto had thrown at her, before bringing Miló up, and firing repeatedly. Ignis and Ferrum glowed and expanded to form a shield, before reforming into their regular form as gauntlets as Scorto leaped into the caught him on Akoúo̱, before hurling both of them away. Scorto leapt off of Akoúo̱, before reforging Ferrum and Ignis into their ranged modes.

Pyrrha saw the gauntlets glow, and raised a hand, pulling at them. The molten metal slipped easily off of his hands, and into a rapidly cooling ball in between the two of them.

"Oh, for -"

Akoúo̱ interrupted him.

The lights came up, and Scorto checked Pyrrha's aura, noting with slight smugness that she was low orange.

"In a tournament-style match, Mr Fortis' depleted aura would mean that the match official could then call the match." Goodwitch said for the umpteenth time.

"Mr. Amyntikós and Mr. Winchester, please."

"Good luck." Scorto whispered as he passed Aspidas.

"Thank you." Aspidas replied.

"Come at me, Mute!" Cardin called from the stage.

Cardin and Aspidas circled, similarly to Scorto and Pyrrha, and it was Cardin who made the first move. The taller boy lunged forward, bringing his mace around, only to have his swing blocked by Aigída, before Aspidas shoved the mace off of his shield, and brought Makrýs' butt thumping into Cardin's chest. Cardin staggered back, dropping his mace, and Aspidas whipped Makrýs around.

Only for Cardin to grab the spear, and lean over.

"Gonna say something, Mute?"

Aspidas said nothing.

"Fine." Cardin snarled, and brought his knee up.

Aspidas was faster, catching Cardin's knee on his shin, before kicking out.

Cardin fell to the ground, gasping.

The lights came up, and Goodwitch stepped onto the stage.

"I. Am. Not. _Mute_." Aspidas growled.

"Very well," Glynda said, "Next is…Jaune Arc? Mr Arc? Has anyone seen Mr Arc?"

* * *

**Any guesses where Jaune is? I'm probably going to do another introduction chapter before I start on the plot. I'm considering a lesson with Oobleck, but I'm open to suggestions.**

**And yes, Aspidas can speak. He isn't mute.**


	3. Characters

**Sorry I can't upload the next chapter right now, but here are some character factfiles. I'll upload the Chapter tommorrow.**

* * *

Hazel Umbaras :Leader

Paired with Aspidas

Girl

Black hair, Golden eyes

Semblance of Shadowmancy

From Vale

Uses a pair of pistols (Ombra and Nocta) - can maintain a huge rate of fire - that Mechashift into knives

Most fragile in the group.

Assertive and confident.

Strong sense of duty.

Mother is a police officer, father is a surgeon.

Terrified of snakes.

* * *

Aspídas Amyntikós: Defense

Paired with Hazel

Boy

Brown haired and eyed.

Semblance of Healing

Uses a shield (aigída) which can aura-charge.

Also uses a longspear (makrýs) which mechashifts into a suppression-fire, aura-charged gun.

From Mistral

Naturally cautious and shy.

Fiercely overprotective.

Has a little sister training in Vale.

Orthodox in his approach to many things.

* * *

Scorto Fortis: Confusion

Paired with Loren

Boy

Semblance of Molten Metal

Black hair and eyes.

Uses a pair of gauntlets (Ignis and Ferrum) which have a limited mechashift.

They normally change form by melting the metal and reforming the gauntlets.

Can fire molten metal streams.

Impervious to heat - can still burn though.

Father is an ex Vacuoan legionnaire.

Never knew his mother, his father is missing

Has a naturally unorthodox and carefree approach to life.

Embarrassed about his name

* * *

Loren Theama: Ranged.

Paired with Scorto.

Girl

Blond haired, Green eyed.

Semblance of Sense.

From Vale

Uses an aura-charged bow which mechashifts into a two-sided sword.

Naturally aims for slash attacks with the sword, and hitting weak spots with the bow

Has an older brother two years ahead of her at Beacon

Naturally very aggressive and has a lack of caution


	4. Lessons

**Sorry this is late, guys! But, it's here now, so, enjoy!**

* * *

"The Battle of Ceadeus was the turning point in Vacuo's war. It was the point where the Legionaries first showed how truly devastating they could be. Now, until that point, Vacuo had been trying to fight the war with simply their Huntsmen, and, of course, their Huntresses. This had resulted in huge numbers of dead for the Vacuoans, simply because there were not enough Huntspeoples. The shift in stance away from Huntspeoples directly impacts Vacuoan beliefs on the nature of duty, even to this day. Does anyone know how? Yes, Miss Nikos?"

"Vacuoan law states that, by duty, every Vacuoan must sign up for active service in the legions." Pyrrha said.

"Correct! Every Vacuoan must sign up once they reach the age of twenty-five, in order to ensure that creatures of Grimm, or indeed, raiders and bandits, cannot simply walk into Lorus. This means that, since the act of Flavius was passed, Vacuo has never lost a major city to the Grimm, at least, not that we now of. Now then, at the Battle of Ceadeus, the Legionaries seemed unbeatable, and the Grimm were driven off. Buoyed up by this success, Scipio lead his men against the second concentration of Grimm, in the Darkshard Mountains, and it was precisely because of this that Vacuo has ever produced Huntspeoples again. Does anyone know why? Mr Amyntikós?"

"Boulders." Aspidas said.

"Correct! In fact, the Legionnaires were incapable of making any headway due to the odd nature of the Darkshard mountains - they are constantly forming and reforming. So, while the Legionnaires could make no headway, the Huntspeople made it through and slaughtered the Grimm. So, you ask, how does this impact upon us today? Simple. The Legionnaires allowed Vacuo to expand enormously, beginning its famous empire. When the empire fell, the remaining Vacuoans began their policy of isolationism, something which they are only beginning to come out of. Speaking of which, I am led to believe that we have a Vacuoan here?"

"Me, sir." Scorto raised his hand.

"Excellent, excellent. So, as I was saying…"

* * *

"You're Vacuoan?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah." Scorto said, "You're from Mistral, aren't you?"

"Yes." Pyrrha replied.

"So…you, um…speak Vacuoan?" Scorto asked awkwardly.

Pyrrha laughed, as Scorto turned redder than her hair.

"You do, don't you?" He mumbled.

"I speak enough." Pyrrha admitted, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"...Thank you." Scorto said.

Loren popped up next to Scorto.

"What's so funny?" She asked innocently.

"You don't want to know." Pyrrha said, "Trust me."

* * *

Hazel ducked under the training bot's swing, slashing its arm off and bringing up her left arm to bisect it. She continued to spin, Ombra embedding itself in the back of a bot as it prepared to leap at Scorto. Scorto nodded his thanks, and punched the head off of another bot, blocking a swing with his gauntlets before kicking in its knee. He pivoted on one foot, grabbed another bot and hurled it into its newly damaged counterpart. Hazel fired Nocta at three bots within an eyeblink, and they all went down.

Scorto barged into a bot, knocking it off-balance, and Hazel took it in the neck. He twisted, and caught a bot in the head with his fist, before launching into the air.

Every single bot in the room deactivated.

Scorto landed, and looked around. Hazel just shrugged.

"Mr. Fortis. Come with me for a second." Ozpin said, appearing on the viewing gallery.

Scorto leaped onto the gallery.

"What is it?" He asked.

"In my office." Ozpin said.

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Scorto spluttered, coming to his feet.

"I simply want you to find the Veiled Lady. I've come into possession of a map-"

"The Lady doesn't just appear when you're in the right place! She's a spirit, it's her choice to be found!" Scorto almost yelled.

"Young man, sit down." Ozpin said, "I am merely asking you to do this. It is your choice whether or not to do it. Besides, I have reasons to send you."

"Like what?" Scorto challenged.

"The map puts her dead in the middle of Vacuo."

"Ah. Aaand I'm the only one who can get in." Scorto said.

"Without the possibility of starting a war, yes." Ozpin said.

"What do you want me to ask her, then?" Scorto asked.

* * *

**Here it is, and the Plot begins! I'm not sure I did a good job of Oobleck, but it'll do, I hope. And, because I'm lazy, I just made the Vacuoans Romans. Which may be interesting seeing as Vacuo probably has a lot of desert, but ah well.**


	5. Vacuo

**The chapter's on time! Whohoo! Anyway, there's real plot going on here. Yay!**

* * *

Scorto walked up to the checkpoint with more than a little trepidation. He placed his papers in the indent, and slid them across to the Legionnaire inside the booth. The Legionnaire wore a full breastplate and had his shield propped against the side, something that Scorto knew would change as he went further east. As the land became more and more desertified, the full metal armor would be replaced with loose robes and other such garments. To do otherwise would be impractical.

The Legionnaire looked at the papers, looked at Scorto's face, and decided to not say anything. He waved Scorto on, and Scorto revved away. He wondered if Yang would mind him borrowing her bike.

He rode further into Castutum, until he reached _The Noble Grimm_. He walked into the pub, well used to the overpowering smell of tobacco, and looked around, scanning the clientele. Over in one corner was a thickly bearded man, with a small bulge barely noticeable along his back, probably a weapon of some kind. Closer to the bar sat a group of three heavily scarred men, career Legionnaires, Scorto guessed. At another table was a group of about a dozen men playing dice, and Scorto smiled as he caught about half the players out with their various underhand tactics. All of the people here were heavily tanned. He approached the dice table, and brought his hand down on the dice as it rattled around.

"Use the real dice next time." Scorto said, staring hard at a small, ratty man, who was now sweating profusely.

"I-I don't know what y-you're-" He began, before Scorto cut him off.

"You're keeping three weighted dice in the lining of your left sleeve, two more in the right sleeve and the last one in your shoe, am I right?"

"I, I, I…"

"I'll take that to mean yes, then." Scorto pulled himself a chair, "Come on. Let's play, for Dust's sake."

The ratty man left after three more rounds.

* * *

Ozpin stuck his head around the door.

"Is it safe to come in yet?" He asked.

"That stupid little good-for-nothing…" Yang trailed off.

It was carnage. Tables were smashed, chairs were broken, and the room was on fire.

"He'd better return it without a scratch." Yang said.

The rest of the class cautiously sidled back into the classroom. Oobleck appeared next to Yang.

"Miss Long, _if _you have finished your fit of childish pique, is it possible for us to get _on_ with the lesson?" He asked, before sipping his cup of coffee.

"Yes. Sorry." Yang sighed.

"_As _I was saying, while Atlas has had many problems…"

* * *

"So," Scorto began, after an hour of silently slipping Ducats to the bar, "Have any of you heard of…Marcius Decius?"

A chill of silence spread across the table, which impressed Scorto. There were not a lot of things capable of taking twelve men from the pits of drunkenness to the clear heights sobriety in an instant.

"Yeh, we know 'im." A burly man spoke up, "E's bad, that 'un. Staying at the…um…'orse 'n' cart."

"Hm. Scorto said, "And…That's near here, is it?"

"Kid, take my advice." The burly man said, "Don't get in wiv 'im. It don't end well."

"I'll take that advice," Scorto said, "And bet…five."

He played for half an hour more before buying one last round, slipping away, and finding the _Horse and Cart_. The people he'd played with would have nothing but fond memories of him…if the Blackroot sap he'd slipped into their drinks allowed them to remember anything from that night. They would probably wake up tomorrow with a pounding headache, amnesia, and an irrational urge to eat quail. They'd attribute all of it to a hangover.

Scorto glanced at his scroll. Half past four. He knew that the sun set earlier in Vacuo then it did in Vale, so he guessed he had about an hour before the burning sun went down, and frost began to creep in.

It took him half an hour to find the _Horse and Cart_, and a further five minutes before Marcius could see him. As the tall man ushered Scorto into his office, Scorto noted the glorious variety of poisonous plants in the room. Marcius was obviously a…certain type of person.

"So, you're the kid Ozpin's sent to me?" He asked, "To take you up a mountain, then down a mountain? And do the mystic mumbo jumbo?"

"Yeah," Scorto said, "And Dust knows, he's paying you enough for it."

"Humph." Marcius got up and strode over to a drinks cabinet.

"You've personalised the room a lot." Scorto commented, "How long have you lived in here?"

"Five years." Marcius said, turning around with two full glasses. "You drink? Just ginger beer."

""I prefer it when it isn't spiked. I'm not five, for Dust's sake." Scorto replied.

"No, I didn't think you were." Marcius grinned.

Scorto wiped the blood off of his thumb.

"So, what have you spiked?" He asked, "And why?"

"I'm from Punis. Heard of it?" Marcius asked, "Probably haven't. Anyways, we're in a civil war, and we just need a bit of help Don't worry, you'll meet your Veiled Lady. You'll just have to work for it."

* * *

**The plot thickens! Any reviews are welcome, and see you next time!**


	6. Revelations

**This chapter is _way_ too short, but adds more Plot. So it's all good.**

* * *

Scorto woke, shaking his head groggily. The room was swaying, either that or he was. outside, he could hear clunking and whistling. A...train? He tried to push himself to his feet, but his hands and feet were were tied tightly. Painfully tightly. He eventually managed to get to his feet by pushing his back against the wall and sliding up, before a jolt through the floor knocked him off of his feet, and he hit his head against the wall. He tried to get up again, but the room was too cramped, and he'd landed in too much of an awkward position for him to get up. He tucked his knees in, and pulled his hands in front of him. His gauntlets were still on, and he smirked as he concentrated on the gauntlets, feeling his flow into the gauntlets, and-

Nothing happened.

Scorto frowned and concentrated again. Nothing. He reached up, and he felt his gauntlets sink into the cut. He traced the glyph cut into forehead, feeling sick to his stomach. The son of a Grimm! The absolute bastard! He'd bound Scorto's Semblance! Scorto's stomach heaved, and he retched. He drew his legs up, trying to curl into a ball. That was how Marcius found him, when he came into the carriage, asleep, with his shirt soaked, and dark tracks running down his cheeks.

Marcius felt pity for the boy, but he knew that he needed Scorto if he wanted to take Punis back from the Tyrant.

* * *

Scorto awoke again, this time without rope. Marcius was leaning over him, and he nodded when he saw that Scorto was awake.

"I'm going to explain why I'm doing this. Because I'm not the bad guy. Trust me." Marcius began, "Punis was once led by Tiberus. But, one day, Tiberus died, and his successor, Caligulus, took control. It took me a few days for me to get suspicious, but eventually, I realised that Tiberus had been poisoned. Then his friends statred dying in the same way, so II left with a few friends. We've been trying to force Caligulus out ever since. But lately, He's had this new soldier, and I lost some friends...so Ozpin contacts me, and, well, I took the opportunity. But you will meet the Veiled Lady. I swear."

"So you ran away because of some unconfirmed fears," Scorto's voice was scathing, "Came back to attempt to violently usurp leadership, then, when that doesn't work, you kidnap and mutilate a teenage boy, then force him to fight your war? I'd hate to see the bad guy."

"I am _not_ the bad guy!" Marcius shouted, seething with rage.

"No." Scorto agrred, "But I very much doubt this Caligula is either."

Marcius looked at him.

"Tiberus had a feast with his friends just before he died, didn't he?" Scorto asked, "Which you didn't go to."

"Yes," Marcius said, "Why?"

"He had a fever?" Scorto asked.

"Yes." Marcius asked, "What is it?"

"I have an idea." Scorto said, "I'll work on it."

* * *

"Grimm!"

Scorto was on the roof of the train carriage, and he saw the red flashes in the bushes parralel to the track.

"Get your men ready!" Scorto said, I'll deal with this!"

They were still far enough east for the Grimm to be lead by beowolves, and Scorto punched a dozen of them away from the carriage before they managed to establish a foothold. He ducked under a wild slash, and kicked the daemon's knee in. It fell off of the carriage, and Scorto rammed an elbow into another Beowolf as it sneaked up behind him. He tried to reforge his gauntlets, then grimaced when he failed, and punched another beowolf in the muzzle with enough force to crush it into the creature's face. A sharp pain erupted in his side, and he looked around in time for the beowolf to deal him the second blow which sent him tumbling off of the train and into the bushes. He saw the Grimm swarming all over the train, then a rock rushed towards his head, and everything went black.

* * *

"You okay?" A voice said.

Scorto jerked awake.

"I'm-I'm fine." He said, "Who are you?"

"I'm Adam."

* * *

**The plot thickens some more! And yes, it is _that_ Adam.**

**Please review, and thank you for reading!**


	7. Adam

**Sorry This one's so late, guys! I've been round my Grandparent's house, so I couldn't upload. So, I've uploaded two chapters today!**

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Adam pulled Scorto off of the burning sand, before turning and walking away.

"Hey!" Scorto yelled, running after him, "Where in Dust are you going?"

"Punis." Adam called.

"Soo...you work for Caligulus?"

"Yes."

"But you're not Vacuoan. We don't get your kind here."

There was a hiss of steel, and Scorto felt Adam's sword press against his neck.

"You got a problem?" He asked.

"Bull Fauni don't tend to come around here." Scorto said calmly, "Too hot for your kind. That's all."

Adam sheathed his ninjato.

"Oh." He said.

They continued walking for a while, and tapping out a tune with his gauntlets ringing. The sun beat down on them, and the sand grew hotter underfoot but, while Adam became sluggish, Scorto became more and more hyperactive.

"So, what's Caligulus' side of the story, then?" Scorto asked.

"You worked for Marcius?" Adam asked.

"Worked implies I had a choice." Scorto said, "He bound my Semblance. But, yeah."

"Several of Caligulus' close friends started dying," Adam said, "And when Marcius bolted, Caligulus hired me."

"He's paying you in Ducats?" Scorto asked, "The exchange rate on them-"

"He's paying me in Dust." Adam said.

"Oh. Okay." Something niggled at Scorto.

"How far is it to Punis?" Scorto asked after a while.

"We'll stop off at a camp about thirty minutes away." Adam told him.

Scorto tilted his head up, as if tasting the air, before freezing.

"We'd better start running." He said.

"Why?" Adam asked.

"Listen." Scorto said.

Adam strained, then he heard it. A hoarse scream. Very, very faint.

"What is it?" Adam asked.

"Deathstalker." Scorto said, "The camp isn't going to last long against that."

Adam broke into a run, but Scorto flew past him, kicking up a dust cloud, and disappearing into the distance. By the time Adam reached the camp, Scorto was on the sand, and the golden stinger crashed down-

_Swoosh_

The stinger hit the sand several meters behind Scorto, sank almost a foot into the sand, and Adam sheathed his sword. Behind the Deathstalker lay the dead bodies of Adams crew, and around all three creatures was the total wreckage of the camp.

"Big damn hero." Scorto muttered as he dragged himself to his feet.

"Let's do this!" Adam growled, and they charged the sting-less Grimm.

Scorto grabbed two of the short swords left from the massacre, and leapt at the Deathstalker, one sword mechashifting into a submachine-gun, the other stabbing into the Deathstalker's claw, opening the creature up so Adam could slash across its eyes. The creature screamed, and swiped at Adam with a claw which Adam deftly dodged, and his sheath fired at the monster, bouncing off of its carapace.

"Adam!" Scorto yelled, "Distract it!"

Adam nodded, before leaping at the Grimm, and savagely slashing at its back. The Deathstalker screamed, and attempted to bat him off, its tail whipping into his temple. Adam skidded onto the sand, dazed. The monster started towards him, before it stopped dead, and squealed. Adam got onto his feet, in time to see the Deathstalker simply collapse. Adam dusted his suit down, and frowned. Where was-

"Can you get this thing off of me?" came a muffled voice.

"Scorto?" Adam asked.

"Under here." Scorto called, "Hurry, please. It's beginning to smell.

Adam easily rolled the enormous carcass away, and revealed Scorto, covered in blood, but alive.

"What did you do?" Adam asked.

"Their armour has a few chinks from the bottom," Scorto said, "You just shove a sword in there, and they fall down."

"On top of you." Adam said.

"Hey, what else can you do to them?" Scorto asked, "Their armour's too thick for much else."

* * *

They worked quickly to find everything they could that might still work, but it wasn't enough. Too much had been damaged by the Deathstalker, and now that was going to kill them as surely as the Deathstalker would have.

"Ever faced a night out in the desert without shelter?" Scorto asked, "It gets a little..._frosty_. Even the Grimm go underground."

"So you mean...that Deathstalker came from a den?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Scorto said.

"Do you think we could track it back to the den?" Adam asked.

Scorto's eyes widened.

"Yes! We could! Come on, we haven't got much time!"

* * *

"I have...no idea where we are."

"Damn." Adam growled.

The sun was sinking under the horizon, and dew was beginning to form on rocks, the sparse plants, and the pair as they walked across the desert.

"Yeah. We're probably going to die now." Scorto sighed.

"No. Something's caught my leg." Adam said.

Scorto looked down. Adam's leg had sunk more than a foot into the ground.

"I think we've found a den."

* * *

**So, there it is! I know I couldn't really do Adam, but I'm kinda stuck with Him. So I'll do my best.**


	8. The Veiled Lady

Scorto and Adam crested a hill, and saw Punis spread out below them, just a small town with about one hundred inhabitants. In the background was a mountain with white, snow-capped peaks, and in front of the town, was a battle.

"So. That's Punis?" Scorto asked.

"Yeah." Adam said.

"I'm gonna go sort out the fighting," Scorto said, "Just do me a favour. Cut straight through the Glyph."

Adam frowned, but slashed Wilt across Scorto's forehead.

"Thank you." Scorto said, before thrusting one hand forwards.

Across the battle raging below, every sword, every shield, every piece of metal melted down, moved away, then reformed. The fighters looked around, bemused.

"Caligulus, leader of Punis!" Scorto roared, his voice travelling across the distance with ease, "And Marcius, step forward."

The lump of men split in two, and from each stepped forward a man.

Marcius was tall and muscular, a scar running down his face. He was the epitome of nobility.

Caligulus…wasn't. He was a small man, thin, and with with a clark's face, as well as a pair of glasses perched on his nose. He reminded Scorto vaguely of Professor Oobleck.

"Right. Both of you are idiots. Everyone who died from what you two assume was poison died from a disease. It's called ." He boomed.

"This man ruled with an iron fist!" Marcius exclaimed.

"This man needlessly killed his men, my men, and more!" Caligulus retorted.

"Shut up!" Adam growled.

They shut up.

"If it were up to me, I'd kill both of you," Adam continued, voice rising, "But he wants to give you a chance."

"Right." Scorto said, "Here's what I say. Caligulus, you will be in charge of the city-I'm talking trade, building, law, that kind of thing. Marcius, you will have the army."

"But-" Both Caligulus and Marcius began.

"He's not done!" Adam growled.

"And then, everyone who has completed their time in the Legions can vote on someone, other than you two, to be in overall charge. Understand?" Scorto finished.

"Yes," Caligulus began, "But how-"

"You organise it." Scorto said, "I want it decided by the time I come back from talking with the Veiled Lady. Oh, yes, and I want someone to take me to her."

"You're here to talk to the Veiled Lady?" Caligulus asked.

"Yes! Who here knows how to get me there?" Scorto asked.

"I do." Came a voice. Scorto searched for the source, and found an almost petite girl, about seventeen, he guessed, with typical Vacuoan hair. Blonde, and very short.

"You can get me up there?" He asked.

"I can get you to the first Test." She said, "But I won't go up any higher."

"Test?" Scorto asked.

"The Test of the Body, the Test of the Mind, and the Test of the Soul." The girl said.

"What are the tests?" Scorto asked.

"They determine who is worthy to ask of the Veiled Lady. Other then that, I do not know." The girl said.

Scorto looked up. Towering over him was a wall of glittering ice.

"This is where I leave." The girl, Pulchra, said, "I'll see you when you come down."

She gave him a small smile, then began to climb down the slope that would take her back to Punis.

Scorto looked up at the wall, and closed his eyes. He could feel the metals in the mountain, though not as strongly as he remembered. That was probably an effect of the Glyph. He knew Ozpin would have experts looking at it when he got back to Beacon.

The ground trembled, before a stream of molten metal burst up, winding up parallel to the cliff, wind higher and higher. It cooled rapidly, and within a minute, there was a staircase winding up the cliff. Scorto ran up it quickly, before sending the metal back underground.

He walked on for several minutes more, before coming across a strange creature, a wizened old creature, painfully thin. It looked at him with eyes the size of a car tyre, bulging out of its head, before reciting, for no apparent reason.

"What is, and yet, when the sun goes down, is not?

What lives, and yet, when you truly look, does not?

What can you see, but never touch?

What can you grasp for, but never clutch?"

"You." Scorto said.

The illusion vanished, and Scorto continued. Now, a snowstorm hit, and Scorto continued on, until he heard a noise. Scorto looked around,and he heard the noise again, but it was now impossible to tell the snow-filled sky from the snow-covered ground. He ran blindly towards the source, before something large and black appeared out of the snow. The Ursa turned glowing red eyes on Scorto.

"Oh, Dust."

Scorto slammed into hard rock, feeling the air fly out of his body.

"Okay," He gasped air back into his body, "I…I guess you aren't an illusion."

He ducked under the Ursa's paw, and punched it, with his gauntlet firing a stream of molten metal. The Ursa staggered away, before coming after Scorto again, rearing up. Scorto's leg flashed out, and the Ursa began to fall, before Scorto's right fist swung around, smashing the Ursa away. The Grimm skidded along the ground, and suddenly just dropped away. Scorto's eyes widened as he realised how close he'd been to falling away himself.

"Alright, I count three Tests there. I get to talk to you now." Scorto yelled to the world in large.

The snowstorm stopped, and Scorto turned around. The 'rock' he'd slammed into wasn't a rock. In fact, In front of him now was a plateau. There were no rocks anywhere. What Scorto had slammed into was man-made, and had a symbol engraved on it, he saw. It looked like a rose…a flaming rose.

"You wanted to talk to me?" A voice came from behind him.

Scorto whirled around, and the first thing he said was:

"You're not veiled."

"Bonus points for observation, I can tell," The cloaked figure said, "You really didn't complete the tasks the way they should be, you know."

"That doesn't matter. I'm here now. Your name is?"

"Summer Rose," Summer said, "So, you're another one of Ozpin's, then?"

"Yeah." Scorto said.

"What do you want to know?" The Summer Rose said.

"Who's ordering the Dust robberies in Vale?" Scorto asked.

"This woman" Summer conjured an illusion of an elegant woman with shoulder-length, raven black hair, and glowing golden eyes, "Her name is Cinder Falls."

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**I'm going to go on holiday tomorrow, so there's no guarantee I'll be adding any new chapters until next Tuesday. Thank you for reading, and please do review!**


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